Cardboard Fox creates some sturdy musical sounds
Often as an entertainer, I get the chance to share some time with other talented musicians. I was afforded that opportunity recently while spending a couple of hours with a talented group of musicians from England.
Cardboard Fox
While I heard them jamming with a different line up than their norm with their bassist playing banjo, the sounds of Cardboard Fox impressed me.
The band is made up of John Breese on double bass and vocals; Charlotte Carrivick on guitar and vocals; Laura Carrivick on fiddle and vocals; and Joe Tozer on mandolin.
Cardboard Fox is fast becoming one of the most exciting young acts on UK the acoustic scene.
The band’s unique blend of modern folk and progressive bluegrass, combined with original song writing and energetic performances, is giving them a growing presence on the UK Folk
and acoustic music circuit.
I was able to listen to the 2015 Spiral Earth award winner’s latest CD – “Out of Mind.”
The project features ten originals and three covers.
While not conventional bluegrass, the music is amazingly offered and sure to appeal to listeners in every age bracket but especially those who look for a unique mix of present and past in their tastes.
Between them, the band have contributed eight original songs and two tunes to ‘Out of Mind’.
The two tunes featured are Joe Tozer’s ‘Gone, Not Forgotten’ and Charlotte Carrivick’s high–‐octane fiddle tune, ‘Hiding in Hi Vis’. Spread across the album are also three covers, perhaps the
Most surprising being Ingrid Michaelson’s pop hit, ‘Girls Chase Boys’. The band have also included a subtly re-harmonized version of Dirk Powell’s ‘Waterbound’ and a bluegrassy cover
Of the famous Bob Dylan song, ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’. The original songs range
From acoustic pop with catchy riffs (‘More Than You and Me’, ‘Out of Sight is Out of Mind’), to
Modern bluegrass, with the addition of John’s banjo playing on ‘Couldn’t Find the Time’ and
Cardboard Fox jams at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh, N.C.
Twin fiddling on ‘I’ve Gotta Run’. The band’s signature mandolin, fiddle, guitar and double bass line up is augmented on ‘Felicity’ with an electric ‘Fun Machine’ organ, which turned up on the street outside Joe’s house while the band were in the studio.
Recorded and produced by Josh Clark at Get Real Audio (Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston, Damien O’Kane, Nizlopi) in Bath, mastered by Nick Cooke (Kate Rusby, False Lights)
The group has performed at festivals across the UK and Mainland Europe, performing at Glastonbury and showcasing at the English Folk Expo and European World of
Bluegrass Festival. They traveled to the U.S. to appear at the IBMA World of Bluegrass.
I want to encourage you to check out their CD on iTunes, amazon, and Spotify. You can visit their website, www.cardboardfox.co.uk and find them on social media www.facebook.com/CardboardFox, www.twitter.com/CardboardFox1, www.instagram.com/CardboardFox1.
